Four-story wood-framed luxury apartments open in Orlando

February 1, 2017

McLaren Engineering Group completed structural engineering and design services on two new 584,300-square-foot luxury apartment buildings in Orlando, working with development firm ZOM and Looney Ricks Kiss architects. The Baldwin Harbor Luxury Apartments opened its first building in November 2016; the second building was expected to be complete by the end of the year.

“It’s been over eight years since ZOM built a luxury apartment complex in this area of Florida and we believe residents will be thrilled to live in such a high-end property,” said Greg West, chief development officer of ZOM.“We developed the project on two waterfront parcels in a prime location adjacent to the mixed-use Village at Baldwin Park. The property is doing quite well in terms of leasing, which leads us to believe there is a market for this type of complex in east Florida.”

Baldwin Harbor will have a total of 483 units, consisting of one-, two-, and three-bedroom apartment homes ranging from 627 square feet to 1,459 square feet. Rents range between $1,000 and $3,000 a month. All units feature upscale and premium finishes, as well as in-suite washers and dryers.

“The Baldwin Harbor Luxury Apartments are a perfect example of the type of challenging project we love to tackle. The designs are innovative and forward thinking — keeping the consumer in mind to bring maximum comfort and space,” said McLaren Engineering Group CEO Malcom G. McLaren. “In addition to the engineering services we provide to entertainment companies in the Orlando area, we bring a level of sensibility to architecture and aesthetics in our structural work.”

McLaren Engineering Group provided structural engineering, construction administration, and design services for the two new four-story wood-framed apartment buildings. McLaren designed the buildings to be primarily constructed of wood-framed roof and floor trusses — with steel placed in areas where the span was too long for wood to cover — wood-framed bearing and shear walls, and a post-tensioned concrete slab-on-grade with monolithic thickened edges at bearing and shear walls.

“Overcoming the challenge of designing for four-story wood-framed construction was the biggest technical challenge for this project,” said Andrew Habel, Florida division manager, McLaren Engineering Group. “Four stories are typically as high as wood-framed buildings can be built due to strength limitations with the wood framing. Wood-framed buildings higher than this typically require other solutions like concrete pedestal construction at the lower stories. In the end, we made an all wood-framed solution work in the name of providing luxury at an affordable price. We’re extremely pleased with the work we’re doing in communities all over Florida, and specifically here in Baldwin Park.”

Information provided by West Nyack, N.Y.-based McLaren Engineering Group (www.mgmclaren.com).